


How far back can you go?

by indulgentDaemon



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-28
Updated: 2011-04-28
Packaged: 2017-10-18 18:49:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/192094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indulgentDaemon/pseuds/indulgentDaemon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat is at his wits' end when Aradia saves him from certain death. Desperate to fix everything that's happened, he begs for Aradia to send him back in time, but can he really fix things, or will he just become another dead Paradox-copy of himself?</p>
            </blockquote>





	How far back can you go?

"WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Karkat yelled, holding the trembling body in his hands, surprised by how light it was.

"that peasantblood was a motherfucking joke brother." the voice of the subjugglator echoed, from everywhere and nowhere.

"READY TO RIDE THE TRAIN TO THE DARK CARNIVAL?" Suddenly he was there, his smile impossibly wide, even for Gamzee, twirling the batons in his fingers around and around and around...

"...and round and round the merry-go-round... HEY, YOU'VE GOT SOME WICKED TEAL ON YOU!"

Horrified, Karkat couldn't stop himself from looking at the dark bloodstain on his turtleneck. He felt sick. Shuddering, he couldn't believe it had gone this far. No one had stopped the murderous bard, and there was no one left to stand with him, now that Kanaya was off doing who-knows-what with Vriska and Sollux was... oh god, he didn't even want to think about what Gamzee had done to Sollux.

He pushed those thoughts out of his mind and looked down at the body in his arms. He didn't want it to end like this, but maybe he'd have a chance? He gently put the body down and sighed, trying to smile. Then he brandished his twin sickles and braced for what was coming.

...But it didn't come. Later on, he could've sworn he'd heard a click, as if a big clock had suddenly shifted gears, and the regular tick-tock of the universe slowed down, each beat a little bit slower than the next. But then, maybe that was just his mind trying to fill in the details it thought was missing.

"I don't want to ruin the moment," Aradia appeared right next to the frozen Gamzee, her face a frown of concentration, "but if we're killing the subjugglator I recommend we do it now since... well, since I just let the dog out of his cage."

"...Aradia?"

"well not literally, I mean that would be stupid. he wasn't in a cage, I just froze him in time. But the point is, he's not frozen anymore."

"Aradia, is that you? Where the hell have you BEEN!?" The female troll he was seeing wasn't the one that had exploded in the lab just a little while ago, back when things made... some kind of sense. MORE sense anyway. Nor was it any of the countless clones of her... uh... past- and future-selves that had died fighting first the Black King.

Her clothing closely resembled Vriska's, a God-tier outfit, just a different color. When had she ascended to the God-tier? Shaking his head, Karkat glanced at the body on the floor and shuddered again before narrowing his eyes.

"How far back can you go?" The words were hard to mouth, but, he had to try. "HOW FAR BACK CAN YOU GO!?"

Aradia looked back, wide-eyed and lost for words... which was a first. Out of all the greetings he could give her, even her time-sense hadn't allowed her to foresee this. "How far? I guess... potentially, as far back as we'd need to, why?"

"Don't... don't ask me that, you KNOW why!"

"No, I don't. Look, right now Jack is running rampant while I've got Gamzee frozen. He could find us any second. If we want to deal with this, we shou-"

"No! Even if we kill Gamzee, even if we somehow kill Jack, none of it will matter... it isn't going to bring any of them back!" He pointed at the body on the floor and choked back a sob. "You bring me back before this! Bring me back to when I could've STOPPED all this!"

"Karkat, that's not how this works, I can't-"

"Bullshit! I'm the fucking leader! It's my job to fix this! You've been aloof and snide and superior ever since we started this fucking game and suddenly you decide to play helpful and nice!? You send me back right now, that's a fucking ORDER!!"

"Look, Karkat... Even if I do that, it's going to be a doo-"

"DO I-!"

\---

"T!"

Wingbeasts exploded out of the nearby trees, cawing angrily at the troll that had dared to bother their slumber. The air was cold and wet, with a chilling breeze winding through the trees around him, making him shiver. Compared to the sterile, dry air of the laboratory, this was invigorating... but his teeth were chattering after only a little while.

"Wh...where am I?" his breath was coming out in puffs of steam, and he looked around, hugging himself for warmth. He didn't see much, just the dark silhouettes of trees. Aradia was nowhere to be seen and...

BUNP

Something hit him in the face and he gave a muffled yell. Turning around, he saw it, a dark shape coming towards him. Instinctively, he punched wildly, managing to connect, and it flew away again. It was soft... and wet, but fluffy. Like some kind of animal that'd been left out in the rain... or fog, or whatever the hell it was that made the air so cold.

On a hunch, he grabbed the thing once it came back and gave it a closer look. In the sparse light from the moons, he could barely make out the shape. It was a scalemate, hung by the neck from a rope.

"Terezi..." he whispered as he tugged at the rope. It seemed strong enough, and with a reluctant expression he entwined his feet in the rope and began to climb it.

Half-way up, a sudden beam of light exploded from behind a branch and as Karkat glanced up, he was just in time to see something small and yellow fly out from it and then descend at a rapid speed, a long cord attached to whatever it was.

...It was Lemonsnout. He hadn't seen this scalemate specifically, but he was versed enough in Terezi's madness that he knew about the whole Lemonsnout Turnabout. This meant that... yeah, they hadn't entered the game yet. Probably...

Wait, she actually sent him back!? He was about to lose his grip in excitement. This meant he could change things! He could just... he could make them not play the game, he could... he could save them all. Not just them, the whole Troll Empire! Nothing would go wrong, the planet wouldn't be destroyed.

"Terezi! Hey, can you hear me?" he had reached the branch that the rope was connected to and he could just make out the ledge of the window a foot or two above him.

There was no reply, and Karkat wondered if he'd have to find something to toss at the glass when suddenly, it swung open again. He was completely unprepared for the sudden and hard drubbing that his face suffered.

As Karkat fell towards the ground, he saw her leaning out the window. He heard her call out "Who's there?" to the darkness. Before he could answer, or even smile at hearing her voice again, he hit the ground and everything went black.

\---

The smell of something cooking woke him up with a start, and Karkat rose from the blanket he was lying on and looked around. A quick glance told him he'd been correct, this was definitely Terezi's hive. Things were scattered everywhere and, had he not known the troll living here, he would've considered whoever it was a slob. Terezi always said she had a very specific order to things... The 'order' being shit lying around everywhere. How she didn't step on any of it was a mystery.

"So you're finally awake?" Her tone was reserved and somewhat quiet, odd for her. She was sitting on the edge of her recuperacoon, her cane tapping rhythmically on it. "Care to explain why you were skulking around outside my hive?" she jumped down and did a show of stepping up to him, cane bouncing against the floor.

"Terezi... oh god, you're... you're okay." He got up carefully, reaching out towards her and feeling tears welling up in his eyes. He was too tired, and too happy, to even care. "It worked. It worked, she sent me back... oh god I'm just... I can't believe you're here, talking to me. Listen, w-"

He was interrupted by another sharp drubbing to his side. Terezi was walking around him, her forehead creased in thought. "What game are you playing here, Vantas?" she spoke calmly, but he could sense she was wary of him. No surprise, they'd not actually met in person yet. She could smell his blood now, in the original timeline that would be days into the future, maybe. He didn't recall. "All of a sudden at my doorstep, without warning, giving me no time for preparations. Any other troll would take it as an attack upon their home..." She leaned in close, nostrils flaring as she sniffed the air around him, "I take it as a direct attempt on my life."

Karkat just stared at her, mouth slightly open as he tried to process what was going on. Should he play along with the charade, make as little damage to the timeline as possible? Or should he just tell her the truth? Would she believe him? Would his past self believe him? Hardly, past Karkat was an incurable idiot... unless he'd replaced him somehow. He didn't really know how time-jumps worked.

"I... uh..." was all he could make, feeling the slight blush of embarrassment creeping up on his cheeks despite everything. Why was he hesitating? It wasn't as if they hadn't gotten past this point before...

But...

"What do you have to say in your defense... Mr. Vantas?" She leaned in close, grinning slightly as she tapped the cane against her shoe. "Or do you wish to leave it up to His Honor to pass the verdict right away?"

Okay fine, no time to spare. He got up on his feet so quickly that Terezi stepped back, obviously taken by surprise. He puffed out his chest as much as he could and glared at her, cheeks flushing red... It took him a few moments to remember that... yeah, she couldn't see him. Which made the next part a little easier.

Reaching out quickly, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

He held the kiss for as long as he could, but then when he was just about running out of air she pushed him away.

"Terezi... I came back. I'm from... from way ahead, in the future. Aradia she-she sent me back. Everyone was dead, killed. God, Gamzee just went nuts... and Eridan, the fucking crawlbeast... They all went mad. And gods, Gamzee he... he hurt you. Bad... You were... in my hands..."

She wasn't looking at him, she couldn't of course, but he could feel her observing him and he raised a finger to the corner of his eyes, wiping away the wetness that was pooling up. "Please just... try to believe me. I can't prove it right now, but I... I know things that are going to happen, I know how to fix this. Sollux is working on a game..."

"I know."

"What, how can you?"

"I just installed it. I'm your server."

Sudden realization struck him like a blow to his stomach. The game had already begun. He couldn't... wait, he could. There were tons of ways he could fix this! Bring more sopor slime for Gamzee... or hell, just open the door faster. Not take so long to solve those stupid puzzles. Even if HE didn't make it, the Karkat of this time would, and he and Terezi could... could be together, in the new universe. And everything would work out. Emotions ran in and out of him, despair, joy, frustration, expectation, happiness that Terezi was there with him. Warm, all her blood inside her.

"But obviously you're not you, since there's something you want to say to me. This being maybe... the third, or fourth time since I found you outside in the grass." she chuckled slightly and stepped over to her husktop, working it with surprising ease... well not surprising, he'd seen her chatting with John, and that Dave human on the computers in the lab... but it was still fascinating to see her casually operating the system without using her eyes.

"Yeah... yeah I know this part." He walked up next to her, looking at himself on the monitor, slightly fuzzy with trails of... yeah, this was her computer alright."You put my load gaper on an island and... and..." he frowned at her, "you've talked to me four times already and you haven't asked why I'm at two places at once?"

"I thought you'd tell me once you woke up." she was chatting with Karkat while he stood next to her, looking at his past-self on the monitor. "If you're from the future, that explains a lot I suppose. He he he he!" She cackled as she continued typing and Karkat went back to sit down on the blanket, rubbing his temples. He'd already told her what happened, they'd kissed... she'd taken it the same way as when they'd first kissed, calmly, in control. Fuck, how did she do it?

"I know it sounds ridiculous but believe me, there are so many things we need to do. We have to make sure that Kanaya doesn't help Eridan make his wand, and we have to bring more sopor slime for Gamzee... and god... fuck, I think Vriska might have killed Tavros, not that we really need that useless piece of shit, but still..."

Terezi had gone silent, her smile gone for a moments as her black-painted lips were drawn into a straight line. Realizing that she was wearing lipstick, Karkat dragged his hand along his own lips, getting a streak of black against his skin.

"You said Aradia sent you back?"

"What? Yes, of course! What kind of fucking inane question is that!? Does it matter WHO sent me back!?"

"No, I guess not... but how did she do it?"

"God-tier, super powers, dying. You wouldn't fucking understand, none of us did to be honest. And when we did understand, it was too late for the rest of us."

"Hm... that's kind of funny." She finished chatting with Past Karkat and turned around. "And at what point did you swoon me with your mature and bulging leader-muscles? I do recall you making a few fumbling passes at me, but you're clearly not the same Karkat Vantas over there." she nodded her head to the computer and Karkat felt his blood rise.

"Look, for fuck's sake. How can you be so calm about this? I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner, I'm sorry I was too fucking scared to tell you how I really felt. And then the fucking game got in the way and I didn't have time to broach the fucking subject."

"Well, it looks to me like you've got all the time in the world now, or how long is this game?"

"It's... it's weeks."

Terezi nodded and a smile crept up on her lips as she turned off the monitor, setting her cane against her desk. "Well, then I guess there's no rush? I'm sure you can take care of yourself for a while."

"Ah, I remember. This was when you suddenly decided to disappear on me..." Memories flooded back as he completely missed Terezi's subtle message. She gave a soft sigh and sat down next to him.

"I felt my lusus waking up. She's not up yet though..." Karkat nodded and leaned slightly against her, feeling that familiar scent, the taste of crayons and chalk a ghost flying over his tongue. God he'd missed this, just being with her, nothing bothering them, just being close... then he remembered why he'd gone back in the first place and he glanced at her.

"We need to prepare though... if we're going to fix this. I don't know half of what's going to happen, but at least we'll be prepared for so-"

"Shh..." Terezi pinched his mouth shut and cackled, taking off her glasses. The red glare in her blind eyes sent the familiar tingle down his back. At first he thought it'd been fright at what he was seeing, but it wasn't. It was the fact that her eyes were the same hue as his eyes.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something though..."

\---

From outside, Aradia was hovering in the air, watching through the window with a frown on her face. She knew exactly what was going to happen. It had, after all, already happened. One big part of her wanted to just go in there and tell them, or at least him, make him enjoy the time that was left...

But another part, the one that reminded her of her ghost self, was 0kay with what was going on. Let him believe he could change things, at least then he'd have some hope while it lasted.

She hated that part of herself.

**Author's Note:**

> Might make more of this, we'll see.  
> Also, credit to citygrifting for editting!


End file.
